The Remarkable Woman CEO and founder Shivani Gopal examines ways that we as individuals, together with corporations, can reduce the gender pay gap.
Ladies, with Equal Pay Day today, there’s never been a more important time to consider whether you’re being paid what you’re worth.
During the current pandemic, figures have shown that the coronavirus has had the biggest impact on women, with the gender pay gap revealed in August to have widened from 13.9 per cent to 14 per cent over the first five months of the year[1].
The reality is, secrecy is the weapon that serves the gender pay gap. And by creating transparency, we’re going to put an end to it.
Here are some crucial ways that we as individuals, together with corporations, can reduce the gender pay gap:
Individuals
- Know your worth
The work you do is incredibly valuable – and it’s therefore so important to know what you’re worth, and to stand up for it.
At The Remarkable Woman, we’re about to launch an array of money calculators as part of our Signature Membership, which makes managing and understanding personal finances simple. What we are most excited to reveal however, is our ‘Know Your Worth’ calculator – a calculator that allows you to review what you SHOULD be getting paid based on your role, level of experience and industry.
This means that if you’re being subjected to the gender pay gap, you’ll know about it, in just seconds.
This allows you to be armed with the knowledge of what you should be negotiating and basing your financial worth on.
It even highlights what men are getting paid for similar roles, so you can have all the information you need to re-negotiate your salary.
- Calling out sexism anywhere you see it
From the casual jokes about women at the watercooler, to unsolicited comments by people you know about your appearance – we need to call out overt and subtle forms of sexism everytime we hear them, and this can be both in the workplace and in your personal life.
These types of remarks all feed into the social biases and prejudices against women that are often used against them in salary negotiation and ensuring they are paid what they’re worth.
Call out the behaviour whenever you see or hear it.
Let me show you how you can do this in everyday scenarios.
If you hear a sexist ‘joke’, don’t laugh, and don’t play to it. Simply look blank and say “I don’t find that funny, can you explain it to me?”. When you ask someone to explain their sexist ‘jokes’ the gender bias becomes plain as day.
If you catch your colleague or leader saying, “we need to find the right man for the job,” call it out – “or woman”. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve needed to do this – but reminding people of their unconscious bias has a powerful effect towards creating change.
The hardest part is speaking up. But I promise you – silence serves the gender pay gap and the glass ceiling. And by shedding light on it, we’re going to put an end to it.
Corporations
- Champion equality from the top-down
It’s a fact – the advocacy of gender equality and diversity must come from the top and filter through to every level of the organisation.
From ensuring that there are more women in leadership positions, to engaging male leaders to stand up for their female colleagues at the top – corporations need to ensure that their senior role models are demonstrating the values that they want the rest of their organisation to emulate.
This can definitely be a tough one, but it’s so important to tackle if we are to ever crack the glass ceiling for women.
- Create a gender equality strategy and stay accountable
It’s not just about box-ticking and quotas. Corporations must develop a thorough gender equality strategy that truly balances the needs of its workforce and makes its female employees feel heard.
One that expresses a wider vision for the company and include regular targets and measurable objectives linked to its goals.
In this case, accountability is key. And transparency is king.
Shivani Gopal is the Founder and CEO of The Remarkable Woman; a women’s mentoring and leadership platform.
For more tips on how to negotiate your salary, plus access to her ‘Know Your Worth’ pay calculator, sign up for The Remarkable’s Signature Membership program at: https://www.theremarkablewoman.com.au/signature-membership
You can also follow The Remarkable Woman on Facebook and Instagram.
[1] WGEA: https://www.wgea.gov.au/data/fact-sheets/australias-gender-pay-gap-statistics-2020
